


A Month of Positivity

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-10 04:14:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 12,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7830040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of my fics for the #31ouatpositivity on Tumblr<br/>Prompt word and pairings in the chapter notes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> Beauty (Day 4 - I started late)  
> Snow/Charming

He’d once told Emma to live for the moments, the little parts of life in between the dramas and the struggles. Somewhere along the way he’d forgotten to heed his own advice, but since he’d been back from the underworld, he tried to remember to appreciate the little things.

The salt tang of the breeze on his face. Neal babbling to himself in his crib. Snow sleepily fixing breakfast. The sun rising after keeping watch for Hyde all night. Emma and Killian laughing together at some joke Henry made. Pongo snuffling his hand hopeful for a treat. Granny rolling her eyes at Leroy’s complaints about his coffee.  
Snow wrapped her arm around his waist and looked at his gently smiling face.

“You look happy.”

“For all the chaos and bedlam, the world, my life is a beautiful thing.”

He pulled her in closer and rested his head atop of hers.

“I love you Snow.”

His smile grew as she nuzzled into him, her cold hands sneaking under his shirt.

“I love you too, Charming.”


	2. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust  
> Henry and friends

Killian had spotted the kids on the beach as he worked on the Jolly. He’d waved at Henry and his friends and carried on with his task, keeping a sly eye on them, because this was Storybrooke after all and these kids had developed a knack for finding trouble. After a while he gave up the pretence of not watching them and moved to the ship rail so he could better see what game they were playing. It was puzzling, they were taking turned to fall backwards for the others to catch. He peered closer and saw that Grace had her eyes closed and her arms folded across her chest. That was surely dangerous; she had no way of breaking her fall if the others dropped her, that hadn’t happened, but it could if the kids were distracted as she fell backwards. 

He watched as each of them went through this strange ritual, the wind brought him sounds of encouragement from the others when Hansel hesitated. Once all had taken a turn Henry dragged a crate into position and they all went through it again. Killian was getting nervous at this point, standing on the crate made the fall backwards more dangerous, it took the entire group to catch the faller now. And they did just that every time, no one hit the sand with a thump, no one was laughed at for being nervous, everyone was congratulated for taking their turn and thanked for making the catch.

Trust, they were practising trusting each other. The realization hit Killian like a rogue wave. Henry and his friends were taking the time to develop the trust between them, the thought made him smile. Should these five ever find themselves shoulder to shoulder in battle, and this being the town it was the chances were high, there would be no glimmer of doubt in the man, or woman by their side. It made him glad he was on Team Hero now, any villain take a shot at the next generation of heroes was beaten before they’d begun.


	3. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family  
> Leroy/Nova

He’d always been a little separate from his brothers. He was the anomaly, the first hatched when they should have broken from the shell together. The First Curse had separated them, forced them all to be alone, but since the Saviour had woken the town they had shifted back together. It hadn’t taken long for them all to move into the same house, to live together as brothers again.

But now he wanted things to be different again and he wasn’t sure how they were going to take that. He didn’t have to creep out in the dead of night, or even try to explain, they understood, just as they had before. Doc was the one who voiced what his brothers were thinking.

“It’s okay, Grumpy. You were always meant to be with her, and now you can and we want that for you, but…”

Doc looked around at his brothers and took a deep breath.

“But if you want Nova can move in here with us. We are all okay with that. She’s your True Love and that makes her family.”

Leroy wiped his hand over his face and walked out of the front door. Less than an hour later he walked back in with Nova’s hand gripped tight in his. His brothers smiled and rushed forward to hug her. Tears ran down her face, she was welcome here; she had a home where her and her true love were accepted. Leroy wrapped his arm around her.

“We got a family, sister.”


	4. Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save  
> Emma Swan

She finally moved into the house. It took longer that she thought. She’d always travelled light, there was no point amassing things when she never stayed anywhere for long, her whole life had fit into a bag and a couple of boxes. That was then, before her twenty-eight birthday, now things were different. 

The house was furnished, but it took three trips in her little yellow Bug to move all of her things from the loft to her new home. At first she was sure Snow and David had packed up extra stuff for her, but as she unpacked the boxes she realised that every item was hers. Photos of her with family and friends, the sword she’d used in Neverland, pictures Henry had drawn for her, odd bits and pieces that held memories of the adventures she’d had since she came to Storybrooke, like their plane tickets to New York. 

She sat back on her heels and tried to work out when she’d started saving little things. She’d never been a collector before, not on this level. She had the invitation to Doctoberfest, a shoelace from Graham’s boot, a bottle of bright red nail polish from a girlie afternoon she’d had with Ruby, it was strange that she’d been gathering trinkets of her life here and hadn’t even noticed.

For a long while she considered leaving them all in the box and shoving it in the hall closet, but then the sword looked good above the mantel piece, the photos looked great on the fridge, the nail polish went on her dresser with her other make-up. All the little things found a place in the house. Halfway through putting her clothes into the wardrobe it hit her that these little things were roots. She waited for the panic to hit her, but it didn’t come, instead she smiled. For the first time in her life it felt safe to have roots, to be part of something bigger than herself.


	5. Question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question  
> Emma Swan/Killian Jones  
> Belle/Rumple

Every single day he asked himself the same thing.

“Why?”

That was the short version; the longer version was more detailed.

“Why was she attracted to him? Why did she fight for him? Why did she want to be near him? Why did she keep coming back? Why was she so brave? Why was she so strong?”

Killian smiled as Emma greeted Belle with a hug and tried to ignore the tapping of the cane next to him. The only sign that the Crocodile was present was the gentle glug of liquid as the Dark One swallowed a mouthful of ale. After a while an accented voice he knew oh so well softly said; “I know what you’re thinking, pirate.”

Killian tensed, but refused to turn his head. Curiosity got the better of him and he asked as indifferently as he could; “Aye? What’s that?”

“Same thing I ask myself every minute of every day.”

Killian’s glass paused on his way to his lips, he lowered his glass, but didn’t take his eyes from Swan ask she chatted with Belle. 

“You question your fate, Crocodile?”

Beside him Rumple snorted; “I’ve more reason than you, I think pirate.”

Finally Killian turned to look at the man.

“But she broke your Curse; you knew you were true love.”

Rumple huffed a wry laugh; “Yes and if you’ve read young Henry’s storybook you know how well I reacted to that,” He swivelled on his heel and faced the pirate, “The gods themselves have endorsed your love and yet still you have doubts,” he waved his hand to halt Hook’s stammered denial, “I can see it on your face every time you look at Miss Swan. You can’t lie to me pirate, I know that look, I see it in the mirror every time I shave.”

The two old enemies glared at each other for a long moment. Killian was stunned when Rumple’s shoulders sagged slightly and he waved to Granny for a refill for the two of them. Rumple held his pint towards Killian and reluctantly the pirate tapped their glasses together. Rumple took a sip and jerked his head in the direction of Emma and Belle.


	6. Protect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Protect  
> Belle/Rumple

The emotion hit him so hard his legs all but went from under him. He kept his feet long enough to stagger backwards to the chair, his eyes never leaving the little bundle in his arms. This was so familiar, but so different. The babe in his arms was wrapped in soft pink wool, not rough homespun; she was a wee girl, not a little laddie; his ankle wasn’t freshly crippled this time, although the bones in his hand might never be the same; his wife wasn’t sneering at him and calling him a coward.

“Rumple?”

Only the concern in Belle’s voice could make him drag his eyes from their daughter. Belle was exhausted, the labour had been long, but as worn out as she was she was worried for him. His wife was a marvel.

“We..we’re parents Belle.”

She chuckled at him and held her hands out to him. He rose on shaking legs and crossed to the bed. He couldn’t let go of their little girl just yet, so he sat next to Belle, his heart swelling when she laid her head on his shoulder and stroked their daughter’s face. Belle was sleepy, but there was something she had to make sure of first.

“Rumple?”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“You are going to unfreeze the town, aren’t you?”

Rumple tensed and shifted guiltily. He’d told Belle what he’d done when she’d managed a laugh and joked that they were lucky no-one had rushed in needing help. Any response to his confession of freezing the whole town apart from the doctor was lost as the next contraction swept over her, but he’d known she wouldn’t forget.

He got to his feet and walked to the window, tucking their daughter securely in the crook of one arm as he went. 

“Do you want to see Daddy do magic, little one? Ready? Whoosh.”

Rumple twirled his fingers at the window and suddenly the sounds of the town going about its day could be heard again. He turned shyly to Belle, waiting for her chastisement, but found her wearing a sleepy smile.

“That’s one way to get some peace and quiet.”

Belle’s eyelids fluttered, she’d be asleep in moments. Rumple swiftly crossed the room to her side.

“Sweetheart, you’ve got to name her, please.”

Part of Belle wanted to laugh at the worry in his voice. Rumplestiltskin had just frozen a whole town in order to ensure her delivery was undisturbed, but he was anxiously clinging to the centuries old Frontlands tradition that a new born must be named by its mother within the first hour of its life. It was supposed to offer the child protection. She was about to make a joke when she saw the fear in his eyes, this was important to him, and if anyone in the realms understood the power of names it was her husband.

“Hope. Her name is Hope.”

As she drifted into sleep she heard Rumple say; “My darling daughter Hope, I will always protect you.”


	7. Quote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote  
> Henry  
> future fic

“I got this.”

“We got this.”

“You got this.”

It didn’t matter who the subject was, or what the object was, his family had this. “Got” could be anything from “survive” to “destroy”, or “endure” to “love”. The real meaning was something deeper, something that, even as the Author, Henry had trouble putting as succinctly. In the end he translated it into Latin and inscribed it in the front cover of the latest volume of the Storybook. It wasn’t a great translation, but it did the job and over the years those words became the motto of the next generations.

In later years it was written by the quill of subsequent Authors as frequently as the words “true love” or “happy ending”, it became a part of the never ending story, woven it to its fabric as much as any hero or villain ever had been. For a long time the exact meaning was lost, then one soon-to-be Author, who was in desperate need of hope, stumbled across the volume of Once Upon A Time penned by Henry Mills. Within the leather-bound covers of that book they found the history behind the phrase they had known since childhood.

in hoc credimus accepisti

The wheel never stopped turning, for every dark time, light would follow, as sure as day followed night. The Author in waiting didn’t know what light was about to break into their life, but as they ran their fingers across those words for the first time they believed that a better time was possible. They felt them, understood them and somehow heard a dozen or more voices say;

You got this we believe in you.


	8. Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands  
> Blind Seer

She wasn’t sure how she’d ended up here; she had died, or so she thought, but by some strange twisting of Fate she’d ended up in Storybrooke, her eyes milky white and blind, her Sight intact but hindered.

There were no eyeballs in her palms here; which was a blessing of sorts she supposed, but she could still See, if the circumstances were right. The first week under the Curse had been hell. People shook hands in this realm and that contact told her everything about a person. Everything, their true past, their fake past, flashes of their present, hints of their future. The Curse muddled things, but she discovered that her power only worked with skin contact; a thin layer of leather or wool offered her protection and let her sink into the haze of the false memories forced upon her by the Evil Queen.

It was peaceful for a very long time, then she shook hands with a newcomer, an outsider, Emma Swan. After that even the gloves couldn’t protect her.

Ruby Lucas helped her from her seat in the diner; rough pads, desperate to feel the dew damp grass beneath them as she ran, a true love to come, but a long journey first.  
David Nolan took her hand to lead her across the street; palms soft from years working with sheep, but toughened from holding a sword, happiness soon, but much pain to battle through before he found his way.

Leroy; tough, stubby hands that passed her the sugar, with such strength, a glimmer of something shiny and different that marked him out as different.

Sheriff Graham who caught her when she stumbled; years, decades of pain and misuse and only a brief understanding, but no happy ending in this life, but in the beyond he would find his pack.

And then a voice she knew in this life and the one before;

“Rent day Ms Sayer.”

She reached for his hand and held it tight and hard even as he jerked and tried to pull away. The past they had known, the future she had shown him, the truth of what was to come raced through her mind. She sagged to her knees and against every exaptation she had of the man, the beast, he caught her and held her steady.

“Ms Sayer? Are you quite well?”

She laughed what else could she do in the face of the future written in his hands?

“Yes, R…r...Mister Gold. I’ll drop my rent to you at the shop later if that is acceptable to you?”

He paused for a moment, they were off-script now, she had always paid promptly into his hand.

“Of course, that will be fine. Thank you.”

She shouldn’t have, but she couldn’t help herself.

“You’ll be heading to the B and B now, I expect.”

It wasn’t a question; it was her pushing, tweaking Fate in a way she’d no doubt pay for at some point. 

“Erm, yes, I believe that is my next stop.”

She clasped his hand firmly in hers, the shudder of power that he didn’t know he had ran from him and returned to her.

“Thank you, Mister Gold.”

He took his hand back and she felt him try to compose himself.

“Good day to you Ms Sayer.”

She waited until the tapping of his cane had faded from her hearing before peeling off her gloves and looking with unseeing eyes at her palms. It was back, not the physical sign she’d had before, but the Sight was back in full, she’d taken it from him this time. She closed her hands into fists and shrugged. Before she vanished from Storybrooke the Blind Seer thought that it was a shame Rumplestiltskin hadn’t been able to keep the power of Sight, it would have come in handy in the months ahead.


	9. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope  
> Henry/Violet

_Four little unassuming letters that together carry so much weight they can alter the world. It isn’t the word that changes things, as much as the huge concepts it can embody._

_Hope was a meeting in the forest._

_Hope was a lion tattoo._

_Hope was a ship._

_Hope was a chipped cup._

_Hope was fireflies._

_Hope was a strong heart._

_Hope was a ring._

_Hope was a view through a telescope._

_Hope was a house with a view of the sea._

_Hope was a magic bean._

_Hope was a True Love’s Kiss against all odds._

_Hope was a leather-bound storybook._

_Hope is fragile, it can be dashed and shattered in a heartbeat, but at the same time it is enduring to the point of stubbornness, it can last as a faint glimmer only to blaze into light strong enough to eclipse the sun._

Violet read the page over Henry’s shoulder and tentatively reached for the Quill in his hand. He nodded his head.

“Go on take it.”

She did, but still hesitated before she lowered it to the page.

“I’m not going to destroy a realm by using this am I?”

Henry chuckled and wrapped his hand around hers, not to guide just to support.

“Not a chance, you’re too good to do that. Go on write.”

Her hand still shook a little as she slowly added to his words. The magic didn’t flow for her, she had to inscribe each word on to the page, but as Henry watched each letter appear he felt her writing was more magical than his.

_Hope is family._

_Hope is friends._

_Hope is sadness shared._

_Hope is laughter shared._

_Hope is a story that you live every day._

Violet held her breath as she lifted the Quill from the page. Henry rested his head on her shoulder.

“No realms destroyed, but you’ve done something amazing.”

“What’s that?”

He carefully took the Quill from her hand and wove their fingers together before kissing her knuckles.

“You made my story better.”

_Hope was eyes that sparkled when they looked at you._


	10. Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendship  
> Belle/Rumple

Belle was ill and Rumple was worried sick. Last week a flu bug swept through the town which only affected magic users. He’d been unwell and Belle had taken care of him while he’d been sweating and coughing, but now she was sick and he wasn’t sure what to do. Her malady appeared to be related to the one that knocked him off his feet for a day, it had a similar resistance to magic, anything he conjured for her made her feel sicker. Belle had finally settled into a fitful sleep, he needed to do something to help her so against centuries of self-reliant instincts Rumple pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

His plea for help might have been answered with better grace had he noticed it was four in the morning, but it was answered. Twenty minutes later there was a gentle knock at the front door, which was opened to reveal Charming holding a grocery sack. He kept his voice low as he stepped into the house.

“Hey Gold. Got everything you need to take care of a sick wife.”

Rumple led Charming into the kitchen where the Prince unloaded he bag onto the counter. Charming had brought apparently endless boxes of tissues, packets of pain relief, bottles of cough syrup and oddly a thermos.

“What’s in there?”

“Snow’s Chicken Soup, best thing for you when you’re ill.”

Rumple fidgeted with a bottle.

“Thank you for this David.”

Charming clapped his on the back.

“What are friends for?”


	11. Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mother  
> Regina - Emma friendship  
> Henry/Violet

“I’m sure you’ll make…well some sort of mother.”

Rumple always had a skill to cut with his words, but the wounds he left never stung at the time. The finest scars were the deepest and those where the Spinner’s specialty. She’d done wrong while trying to do her best, but now she was sure she was as bad as her own mother. Henry’s first love was bringing him such joy, but all she could think of was how to stop it, how to bring him back to her.

“I get it.”

Regina dragged her gaze from Henry and focused on Emma who had slid into the booth next to her.

“What do you get?”

Emma shrugged; “I get wanting to keep him to yourself.”

Emma had a knack for hitting the nail on the head, and this was uncomfortably close to the very thought in her head. Regina heaved a sigh and fell back on snark.

“How would you understand?”

“Because of you. The false memories for that year in New York. I remembered holding him for the first time; I remember soothing every fever and nightmare. That was all from you wasn’t it? You gave me your memories.”

“I wanted you to be prepared.”

“And I was, so I get it now, how hard it is to see him growing up.”

“And yet you are encouraging his… his association with, with her?”

“Violet, her name is Violet and our son loves her.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Emma’s head tilted to one side, she was quiet for a moment before she spoke softly.

“I’ve had maybe twenty Moms over the years. The worst ones were indifferent and uncaring, the best one could be smoothing and irritating, but now I see those ones were trying to do their best. I understand motherhood better now and that’s thanks to you. You’ve made mistakes, big ones, but you’re not Cora.”

Instinct made Regina want to snap something dismissive at Emma, but she managed to hold her tongue. That extra moment let her think about Emma’s words. She wasn’t Cora, she didn’t have to be Cora and the Regina she wanted to be would be nicer to Violet. She took a deep breath.

“Maybe I should invite Violet over for dinner.”

Emma smiled; “Invite her dad too, she won’t feel so uncomfortable it they each have a parent there.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, and Emma laughed.

“Okay so both the kids will feel awkward, but at least they’ll be in it together.”

 

Violet nudged Henry with her elbow.

“Your Mom just smiled at me.”

The surprise in her voice made Henry ask; “Which one?”

“Regina.” 

Henry glanced across to his Moms and smiled. The look on their faces told him they’d been talking about him; him and Violet since Regina wasn’t glaring daggers at her like usual. That was the cool thing about having two Moms who were so very different, they balanced each other out.


	12. Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adventure

You don’t have to look for adventure in Storybrooke, Maine. Adventure loiters on every corner waiting to grab you by the hand and drag you off at a run into excitement and mortal danger. That’s the big adventures, they are the ones that most people remember well because being in fear for your life tends to leave a hefty imprint on your mind. 

What people tend to forget is that there are plenty of little adventures in Storybrooke, little things that happen every day that get hearts pumping, but these ones are normally only remembered during the lulls in the bedlam that is this town. These ones are retold over coffee or beer in the diner and cause laughter, groans and a few blushes. 

There was the time Pongo decided to catch a squirrel. Nobody knew how the Dalmatian had managed to pick the bushy tailed rodent up, but he proudly brought his new friend into Archie’s office and let it go. For an hour Archie and three of the seven dwarves tried to catch the squirrel, turning Archie’s office into a mess of overturned furniture and scattered magazines. In the end Pongo simply picked up the squirrel and trotted out of the door.

There was the time Granny’s kitchen was swamped with foam because Ruby had been cooking and set the bacon on fire. It was a little fire that could have been doused easily and quickly, but all of the diner patrons tried to help; five fire extinguishers will make a heck of a mess in a small kitchen. 

There was the Great Water Fight at a town picnic that started as a laugh between the kids, but ended up with most of the town joining in. The park was a swamp for days afterwards but it had been amazing fun and the fact that some people had managed to get photos was even better.

Little adventures happen all the time in Storybrooke, they might never appear in the Storybook, but they happen and have a power that big adventures don’t; little, everyday adventures can make people smile without a hint of sadness.


	13. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love

“Anyone else here looking for their True Love or Happy ending?”

Emma was surprised to see a few hands that didn’t shoot into the air. She told everyone else to hang on and managed to catch one of them before they slipped out of the diner. The woman kept her head low and wouldn’t look directly at her.

“Hey, I’m Emma.”

“I know who you are your highness.”

Emma cringed; she still wasn’t use to the idea that she was royalty.

“I’m just Emma here.”

The woman nodded slowly, there was a look of wary disbelief in her eyes and she didn’t offer her name. Emma ploughed on with her question before the woman bolted.

“You don’t want True Love, or a happy ending?”

“No thank you, I’m good the way I am, your hi ... Sherriff Swan.”

“I thought everyone from the Enchanted Forest wanted those things.”

The woman snorted, and backed away slightly as if expecting a blow. 

“Please, I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to understand.”

The woman finally met Emma’s eye and surprised her with an intense, penetrating stare. She took a deep breath.

“I grew up on a little farm in the Enchanted Forest that no one has ever heard of. I dream little people dreams, I’d like love, but it doesn’t have to be true, just good, I can’t think on a happy ending, there’s too much work to be done day to day. True Love, happy endings, they’re for royals and heroes. You know what those things mean to the little people like me? They mean war, they mean chaos and pain. You royals fight for your True Love, but it’s the people like me that die for it. You race for your happy endings, but it’s us who get trampled beneath your boots. I’ve seen the price of True Love and it’s not worth the cost.”

The woman backed away and when Emma made no move to stop her she darted out of the door. The words stuck with Emma as she tried to focus on sorting out everyone else. They niggled at her for days, until Henry pushed the storybook at her and showed her the latest tale from the Quill.

“She lost everyone, Mom, in the battles between Snow White and the Evil Queen.”

“Do we need to worry that she’d going to go crazy evil on us?”

Henry shook his head and flipped the page. The picture showed the woman from the diner and a group of other people working a farm on the edge of town.

“Every one of them was alone, in the Enchanted Forest and here in Storybrooke. They’ve found each other, they live and work together and I think they’re happy.”

Henry squeezed his Mom’s arm.

“There’s lots of different types of True Love Mom, just because they are comfortable putting a label on it doesn’t mean they haven’t found it.”

Emma raised an eyebrow at her son and wondered once again when he’d gotten so wise.


	14. Acceptence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Acceptance

“Damn it!”

Regina rubbed at her ankle and swore again. Snow hurried to her side, eyes still scanning the street for the leprechaun they were chasing.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

The reply was snappish, Snow took that to mean that Regina’s pride was hurting more than her ankle. She held out a hand to help her up, but it was ignored as Regina pulled off her shoes and frowned at them. Snow had to ask; “What’s with the towering spires?”

“What?”

“Your heels, they’ve been getting higher for the past few weeks.”

Regina held her gaze with a defiant glare for a moment before she sagged and shook her head.

“I don’t even like these bloody shoes.”

Snow’s brow creased, it wasn’t like Regina to wear anything she didn’t like.

“Why were them then?”

“Because Henry has grown so much, and with these on I still feel like he’s my little boy.”

The two women looked at each other in silence for a second before bursting out into peals of laughter. 

“That’s got to be the silliest reason for wearing heels I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, I couldn’t shrink him could I?”

Snow got her giggles under control and helped Regina to her feet. Regina waved a hand at her insane footwear, reducing the heels to a height she knew she could run in. As she slipped them back onto her feet and sighed; “That’s better. Thank you.”

Snow patted her arm in a reassuring manner.

““He’s still your little boy, not matter how tall he gets.”

“Yep, I just have to stand on a box to look him in the eye these days.”

“Levitation spell?”

Regina snorted, “Now that might be an idea.”


	15. Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wedding  
> Leroy/Nova  
> Emma/Killian  
> Snow/Charming  
> Rumple/Belle

Leroy and Nova’s wedding was held by the docks, on a bright chilly day. They’d chosen the location because it was so open and as many people as possible could attend, the entire town had received an invite. Doctor Hopper officiated, he was possibly more nervous than the bride and groom as the vows came to an end. Nova had a plan intended to share the joy of the day with others. She took the microphone from him and jumped a little as is screeched. Leroy smiled fondly at his wife and helped her hold it so it wouldn’t keep doing that.

“Hello everyone, thank you for coming today. Leroy and I were told often that a fairy and a dwarf couldn’t have a happy ending, but here in Storybrooke we proved that happy lives are possible for everyone. We want to share the joy of this day, so if any of you married folk would like to renew your vows please stand up.”

Snow and Charming rose to their feet with a smile, followed by Ashley and Sean, Eric and Ariel, Emma and Hook were only three weeks married, but they stood up as well. Nova’s smile faltered a little as she scanned the crowd, she was clearly seeking someone and when she found them she gave them a pointed look and jerked her head toward someone else. It was an odd little pantomime of encouragement, but after a few moments a chair scraped back and someone rose to their feet. Heads turned and stunned muttering began as Gold strode across the aisle. Everyone knew who he’d be heading toward, the gathered crowd parted before him, leaving his way to Belle clear. Since the defeat of Hyde, the two had been living apart, but the whole town knew that they were seeing Archie in an attempt to put the past behind them. Gold reached Belle and stopped a few paces from her. He held his hand out to her, the wedding ring he’d never taken off gleamed on his finger.

“Belle…”

Eyebrows rose as the town witnessed words failing the Dark One. Tension hung thick in the air, breathing hardly happened as everyone waited. Belle slowly peeled her gloves off and reached for Rumple with her left hand. He caught the gleam of her wedding ring on her finger; a soft sob that sounded so loud in the still air escaped him. They joined hands and moved to the arch at the front of the gathering to join the other couples.

The whole town exhaled. Only Leroy and Nova caught Archie’s soft sigh of ‘Thank the gods.’ The couples moved aside so the Golds could take their place at the front. Archie clapped his hands together and began.

“Dearly beloved…”


	16. Honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honour  
> Killian

Honesty and loyalty had been his code.

Once that had been enough for him.

Neverland changed that, twice in fact that cursed isle altered his course.

Once with death, once with hope.

Until he met her, he’d not thought it was possible to change for the better.

Redemption was difficult course, beset with remorse and guilt, but for the first time in centuries he sailed with a hopeful heart.


	17. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sacrifice  
> Belle/Rumple

Rumple slammed his fist into the wall. This was just bloody typical, he’d woken Belle and held their child, but the Fates must have been watching and decided that was quite enough happiness for the Dark One. There was only one way to stop Hyde, save Storybrooke and reunite the separated halves; the Dark One must die. It was a stunningly simple piece of magic, his sacrifice would give the Saviour the power she needed to set things right. 

He punched the wall again sending a flurry of plaster chunks to the floor. The thought that he should repair that before Belle saw it crossed his mind, but didn’t stop him hitting the wall again. The spell required a life force that had existed for three centuries, the pirate was close, but not close enough and of course the heroes didn’t want to lose one of their own. Rumple didn’t think that would work anyway, Hook had been returned by the grace of Zeus, those touched by the Gods made magic unpredictable and that was the last thing they needed for their final effort to defeat Hyde. The wall took several more blows as Rumple considered the only other person in town who could step up and take his place, the Blue Fairy was older than him, but oh no, she had refused point blank to lay down her life. The only good thing about that was she was now suffering the heroes’ displeasure, the fact that that self-righteous little flea had usurped his position as most reviled being in town brought him some satisfaction.

A wave of his hand repaired the wall; there’d be no trace of his temper for Belle to find after he’d gone. He left his knuckles bloody, what was the point of healing himself for his walk to the gallows? And he would walk with his head held high, he was willing to do this, had not tried to find a loophole, had made Belle swear that she would leave him dead this time. A wry smile twisted his lips, dying twice for a town that loathed him wasn’t a bad record for the Darkest of Dark Ones. Henry might even write his story in a favourable light considering this last action, but deep in his dark heart he knew the credit would go to the Saviour.

Rumple fixed his tie and brushed stray plaster dust from the sleeve of his suit jacket as he took a deep breath.

“Time to get this show on the road.”

The little bell above the pawnshop door chimed softly as he left.

He should have expected the crowd on Main Street, clearly everyone wanted to witness his final moments. He kept his pace steady until he saw Belle with their little daughter in a sling across her chest, then he rushed forward and took her hand.

“Sweetheart, we agreed you were going to stay away. I don’t want to put you through this again.”

Belle jutted her chin forward and Rumple knew he’d lost this particular battle.

“I’m not here to see you die. There’s been a change of plan.”

Rumple shook his head; “This is the only option left.”

His wife heaved a dramatic sigh; “I translated the rest of the text, there is a way for everyone to donate a year or two of their life force,” Belle waved her free hand at the gathered crowd, “That’s why everyone is here, everyone is willing to make a small sacrifice for the town.”

It took Rumple a moment to absorb her words, and another to make certain he’d understood them correctly. He cast an eye over the crowd, the Charmings were all there with Regina and Zelena, all the dwarves, many of the fairies, (Blue was noticeably absent), Granny, Red and Dorothy, Cinderella and her family, Aurora and hers, people he’d dealt with in the Enchanted Forest, people he’d only met here in Storybrooke, every single one of them gave him a small nod or a thumbs up as his eye met theirs. It was baffling; surely they would rather see him die than give up anything of their own?

“I don’t understand Belle.”

Charming gave him a hearty clap on the shoulder.

“Belle made everyone realize that this is our town, we can’t expect just one person to save it.”

Miss Swan joined her father and said with a small smile; “It’s a way of thinking I’m very happy to encourage.”

That brought a smirk to his lips; of course the Saviour would want the townsfolk to take more responsibility. Belle’s grip on his hand was tight to the point of being painful, but it was making he realise that this wasn’t some twisted dream. He looked into her clear blue eyes and dipped his head so he could whisper in her ear.

“I should know better than underestimate you, sweetheart.”


	18. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magic  
> Henry

It was probably odd that Henry had decided to learn sleight of hand magic tricks in a town filled with real magic. His Moms certainly found it strange, but they both had magic of the cloud of smoke variety. For Henry learning card tricks was relaxing and knowing how to manipulate a deck came in useful when playing poker with Killian. It was the coin tricks that he enjoyed the most, being able to make a coin dance across his knuckles and then ‘vanish’ into thin air was fun. Sleight of hand crossed over nicely with the pickpocketing skills that came naturally to him and knowing how to escape ropes was a very useful talent in a town where kidnapping the Saviour’s son was a frequent play of the bad guy of the week.

He was grateful he’d put so much practice into coin tricks when a Naga slithered into town. The snake creature was a mean one and had succeeded in trapping Belle and Henry in the library.

“What do you know about Nagas?”

There was a minor note of panic in Henry’s voice as he whispered the question to Belle while never taking his eyes of the slowly advancing giant snake.

“Erm, they’re more visual than most snakes, they’re attracted by movement, they like shiny things, but are incapacitated by gold. I wish Rumple was here.”

It was a futile wish, Rumple had left town with Snow White to track down a magical item that had somehow ended up in Bangor. Henry slowly brought his hand to his pocket and removed the doubloon he’d lifted from Killian’s pocket that morning, (just for practise, he’d been planning on putting it back), he squeezed it in his hand and whispered to Belle; “Stay very still.”

Belle hummed something that sounded positive and held so still Henry had a fleeting fancy that she’d turned into a statue. He brought his hand up and let the fat gold coin dance between his fingers. The naga whipped its head around so fast that Henry jumped and almost dropped the coin. It wasn’t an elegant save, but Henry wasn’t going for a polished performance here. The coin rolled over his knuckles and disappeared into his hand the naga gave him a confused frown, an impressive feat for a creature without eyebrows. Henry waited for a beat then flicked the coin back into sight; he hoped that the flick of the naga’s tongue was a good sign. Henry ran through all of the tricks he knew twice, that naga had slithered a little close each time the coin flipped into the air. Henry palmed the coin one final time and flipped it back into view. It sailed into the air and the naga snapped its jaws around it. Belle must have been ready for this because she grabbed Henry’s shoulders and twisted them both away so they weren’t blinded by the flash of light that erupted from the naga’s jaws. 

“That worked better than I hoped.”

Belle laughed at him as they edged by the immobilized naga.

“Rumple’s right Henry, you are a constant source of surprise.”

Outside the library they found Regina, Emma, Charming and Killian who had responded to Henry’s hasty SOS text.

“You okay kid?”

“Yup, naga’s in there, told you coin tricks were a useful skill.”

Belle smirked as Henry offered her his arm. The two of them strolled by the slightly bemused heroes and headed to the diner for a well-deserved hot chocolate.


	19. Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Redemption  
> Charming  
> Rumple

“Redemption,” Rumple rolled the initial letter and popped the ‘p’, David giggled. The word sounded funny in Rumple’s accent, it was a funny sounding word anyway, but then again everything sounded funny at the moment. 

David had no idea what was in the sparkly powder the witch had thrown at them, Rumple had tried to explain it a few times now, but he kept getting distracted and going off on tangents, like now, but that was fine. Some still clear thinking part of David’s mind told him that if the Dark One wanted to talked about redemption then he should encourage him, it was important.

“Redemption is a funny word.”

Rumple snorted and had to grab David’s arm to stop himself falling over, which was odd considering they were both lying on the ground staring up at the sky. He punctuated his next words with a messy prod in the David’s ribs.

“Redemption is a slippery fish of a word, means two things and both are impossible to achieve easily.”

Silence fell between the two of them as they watched the pretty clouds scurrying across the sky, it would rain soon, and that would be nice. David scrunched his brow.

“Why is it a fish?”

“What? That’s not a fish it’s a rabbit, look.”

Rumple pointed at a cloud that was drifting overhead, it did look a lot like a rabbit.

“No, not the cloud the word, redemption, you said it was a flippery sish.”

Rumple waved the cloud-rabbit bye-bye and let his arm thump back onto the ground. Charming had asked about fishies, no, just one fishie that nasty word fishie.

“It is, can mean clearing a debt, or being saved from evil. It’s a tricky, impossible word. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get people to pay their debts?”

David thought about it for a minute as the tree next to them wiggled, “You always manage it.”

“A deal is a deal dearie, has to be balanced. Got a lot of experience collecting debts,” Rumple burst into twittering giggles, “That’s probably why I can’t have the forgiving redemption, ‘cause I’m so good at the debt collection.”

Rumple’s words sounded hysterical, but even as he was laughing with him David felt the sadness underpinning them, the Dark One was trying hard to be a good guy these days but people still regarded him with fear and suspicion, the thought made David feel very sad. Rumple gave a groan and threw himself into a sitting position, David struggled to prop himself up on his elbows and chuckled at the sight of the leaves and twigs clinging to the back of Rumple’s suit. Rumple was rumpled, that was so funny. 

“You can have redemption you know.”

Rumple shrugged; “I’d rather have some nachos right about now.”

Rumple struggled to his feet and held out a hand to David. It took a few minutes but eventually both men were mostly upright.

“Come on, we’ll walk back to town and I’ll buy nachos.”

David whined; “Can’t you just magic us into town?”

Rumple’s hair bounced around his face as he shook his head; “Not worth the risk. Last time I got a dose of chongacheech my magic went screwy, I turned three chairs into elk. Not a good look for the dining room.”

Giggling and staggering the two men made it back to town and were later found by Belle and Snow munching their way through a huge platter of nachos.


	20. Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Father  
> Henry Mills  
> Next Gen of Storybrooke

One of the minor problems it Storybrooke was working out important dates on the calendar. Birthdays were problematic, everyone who had come over in the First Curse had Land Without Magic birthdays, but since the Curse broke many folk wanted to celebrate Enchanted Forest holidays. The thing was that many kingdoms had their own yearly calendar, and it was difficult to work out how they lined up with the one used in this world. The Midwinter holiday started by general consensus on the 13th of December and ran until the 6th of January, since as best as everyone could work out that covered the celebration times for every kingdom. 

Of course there were some holidays that the Land Without Magic had that didn’t have a parallel in the Enchanted Forest, Father’s Day was one of those and hadn’t been celebrated in the first few years after the Curse broke. It was Grace who brought up the idea with her friends.

“I think it would be nice to do something special for Papa, is all.”

Violet, who had listened carefully to Grace’s explanation of the unfamiliar celebration, nodded thoughtfully, “But surely you do nice things for your father all year round?”

“Oh I do, but I like the idea of a special day.”

“I understand. A party perhaps, that way we can all celebrate all of our fathers.”

Grace grinned at Violet, the girl from Camelot might have been bored by the constant balls there, but she was missing the pageantry of it all in Storybrooke, and was always the first to suggest a party. Henry was excited when the two of them shared their idea.

“I’ve never celebrated Father’s Day before, this is a great idea.”

Hansel bumped his shoulder into Henry.

“Yeah, but you’ve got to come up with presents for two dads, mate.”

It turned out that Henry wasn’t the only one in the group planning gifts for two fathers; Grace wanted to get a gift for the man who had been her father under the Curse. She still saw her Curse parents and didn’t want to leave him out. It confused Gretel a bit so she had to ask; “Is your dad, I mean Jefferson, okay with you still talking to them?”

“Oh yeah. It was a bit awkward at first, Papa thought they might try to steal me back, you know how he gets sometimes, but we worked it out.”

Henry muffled a snort at that, he knew for a fact that ‘worked it out’ didn’t really describe the yelling match Grace had had with Jefferson on this particular subject.

The kids worked in secret for a week, Ruby and Dorothy were brought in on the plan to help set up the diner. There were a few close calls, but the slightly odd behaviour from the kids attracted no more than a raised eyebrow or two from their parents. Presents were hidden with Ruby and Dorothy; dozens of cupcakes that would be arranged into one giant cake were made in the dead of night in Astrid’s bakery; decorations were smuggled into the diner under the cover of the lunchtime rush. Hansel received a ding around the ear from Gretel for tempting Fate when he said ‘Nothing could go wrong’; Fate apparently had other things to be getting on with because everything went perfectly.

Father’s Day arrived and they had no problem getting everyone to the diner for the start of the party. Astrid, Ruby and Dorothy caught the moment the surprise was revealed on their phones. Copies of the photos of so many proud fathers teary eyed and hugging their kids took pride of place on the diner wall.   
Twelve months later the Father’s Day party had to be held in the park, because there just wasn’t room in the diner for everyone.


	21. Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strength  
> Granny  
> Anton  
> CaptainSwan

_Don’t panic Swan, but you have to get to the diner right now._

She’d barely finished reading the text from Killian before her coat was in her hand and she was running out of the door. He’d not given her anything to go on, so she had no idea what to expect. Her list of possibilities had not at any point included Granny in a tug of war contest with Anton.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Killian met her question with a grin and pointed his hook toward the odd little creature sitting in the middle of the rope that was straining between Granny and Anton.

“That little critter is a Brownie, friendly sprite, helps with household chores, it took up residence in the diner during the trip to Camelot. Now when Granny had a mishap this morning and said ‘Give me strength’ the little imp took her at her word. We only found out something had happened when Granny pulled the door off its hinges as she opened up this morning.”

Emma blinked and laughed. 

“So the tug of war contest happened because?”

“Oh Granny wanted to use her increased strength for something fun. The Brownie has said they’ll reverse the spell once the contest is over.”

The breakfast crowd were indiscriminately cheering for both Anton and Granny, who were equally matched. The sight of the elderly lady holding her own against a shrunken giant was unreal, but to be honest not that far out of the ordinary for this town. Emma threaded her arm around Killian’s and together they joined in the cheering. Granny won the tug of war in the end, although Emma was certain she’d felt a prickle of magic that suggested the Brownie had given her a final little boost.


	22. Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brave  
> Henry  
> Hansel  
> Violet

“It’s the only way through. We’ve got to do this.”

Violet gave Henry a tight nod, she was a little scrapped up from the brambles they’d had to fight through, but she wasn’t the person he was most concerned about at the moment. He edged closer to Hansel, who was deathly pale and shaking like a leaf. 

“Why did it have to be wasps?”

The words Hansel got out through gritted teeth gave Henry an idea. Hansel was terrified of wasps, and normally ran screaming from them. If he could keep Hansel distracted they could make it through the hive strewn forest and have a clear run to town.

“You sound just like Ron Weasley.”

“Yeah, but he had magic.”

Violet caught what Henry was trying to do and kept the three of them moving forward, one tiny step at a time as she said; “His wand was broken then, he couldn’t use his magic.”

Hansel frowned: “Was that then? I thought he’d fixed it with Spell-o-tape by then?”

“Yeah but it wasn’t working properly.”

The buzzing of the nests increased, causing the three of them to fall silent. Hansel was holding his breath as the inched their way by a low slung hive. The wasps were a bit sluggish since it was evening, but that would just make them meaner if they felt threatened. For a brief moment Hansel considered asking Henry to write them out of this. It was a passing fancy that he wouldn’t speak, they all knew the mess Henry could get into by writing his own happy ending, and right now, no wasps would be a very happy ending indeed. Instead of asking for the impossible Hansel kept his eyes glued on his sneakers and trusted Violet and Henry to lead them safely through this nightmare.

“Almost there.”

Hansel looked up at Henry’s words and froze. Crawling on Henry’s left shoulder was a wasp. 

“Henry, don’t move.”

His friend froze and Hansel slowly reached out and caught the wasp between his fingers. He held it tight, but didn’t kill it, he’d heard somewhere that killing one wasp would incite the rest of the swarm. He didn’t know if that was true, but he wasn’t going to risk finding out. Violet pushed them both forward, only another ten feet and they would be clear enough to break into a run. As soon as he could Hansel dropped the wasp and ran for town, Henry and Violet were right there on his heels.

They were gasping on Main Street before Violet found the breath to say; “That was very brave Hansel.”

“Nope, that was pretty stupid.”

Henry shrugged; “Amazing how fine the line is between those two. Come on, let’s get my Grandfather, he’ll know how to get rid of the wasps.”


	23. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgiveness  
> Killian Jones  
> Charming

David looked at the two pieces of shoe in his hands; “What am I going to do?”

Killian scratched at his ear with his hook and shrugged; “How the bloody hell do you manage to snap the heel off?”

“The box fell out of the closet and I tripped over it, I must have landed on it and broke it.”

“Well, it’s been nice knowing you, mate. Snow is going to kill you.”

David glared at him; “That’s not helpful.”

“But it’s true, I know women and shoes. I once accidentaly slashed a pair of Milah’s boots and I spent the next week sleeping alone on the deck of the Jolly.”

A tiny gleam of hope flared in David’s eyes; “But she forgave you?”

“Only once we made port and I spent a small fortune buying her a new pair.”

David’s hope grew; “That’s the answer I try and get these repaired and buy Snow some new shoes before she finds out what happened.”

It really was the only hope, so Killian helped David gather the supplies needed to take Neal into town, the bairn travelled with more gear than a whole crew. Eventually they were ready to leave the loft, which is when Snow and Red walked through the door laughing about something. David shifted in front of Killian so he could hand him the box containing the damaged shoes without the women seeing. Killian did the only sensible thing and stuffed the offending item into young Neal’s bag. Ruby cocked an enquiring eyebrow at them as Snow asked: “Hello, where are you three off to?”

“The park.”

“The docks.”

David and Killian exchanged annoyed frowns; they really should have thought this through and come up with a passable cover story. Killian jerked his head at David and let him come up with an explanation; this was his mess after all.

“The docks and the park, Killian needs to check the Jolly and Neal could do with a blow of fresh air.”

For a moment it looked as if they had gotten away with it, but then Red, who was incredibly stealthy on her high heels, snagged the bag from Killian’s hook and pulled out Snow’s shoe box.

“And you felt the need to take Snow’s shoes on a walk because?”

Killian’s hook worried at the skin behind his ear as David scanned the loft for a possible escape route. When no sensible options presented themselves David sagged and pulled the shoebox out of Red’s hands. Killian stepped up to his mate’s shoulder; they would weather this storm together. David took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry Snow, this box fell out of the closet and I somehow broke the heel off one of the shoes. Killian and I were on our way to get it fixed.”

Snow didn’t say a word as she took the battered box from her True Love’s hands. Killian and David cringed slightly as she flipped the lid open and examined the broken contents. Both men were ready for a tirade; neither expected Snow to have to smother a giggle.

“I snapped the heel a few days ago. I hadn’t had time to take them to the cobblers.”

Killian gripped David’s shoulder as he blinked rapidly.

“So, so I didn’t destroy a pair of your shoes?”

Snow shook her head; “Nope, but if you want take them to get them fixed that would be wonderful.”

David was stunned by relief, so Killian retrieved the box from Snow and dragged him out of the loft. They were down in the street before David came to his senses and said; “I dodged a bullet there didn’t I?”

“That you did, mate, and you didn’t even have to beg for forgiveness.”


	24. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Home  
> RumBelle

They say home is where the heart is, that was true for Rumple, his home was wherever Belle and Hope were. It didn’t matter if that was in Storybrooke, or in the Enchanted Forest, they were his heart and his home would always be by their side.

They say a home without books is a home without soul; Belle had grown up in a home with books, a rare thing among the nobility of her kingdom. Now the pink town house in Storybrooke was home and she delighted in filling it with books. Rumple bounced Hope on his knee and smiled as she tried to find space on the crowded shelves for her latest acquisition.

“You know sweetheart, we could just move into the library.”

Belle sat back on her heels and tilted her head as she looked at her husband. There wasn’t a trace of teasing on his face, he was serious.

“Wouldn’t you miss this house?”

Rumple shook his head; “No.”

She actually considered it for a moment, and then shook her head.

“Tempting, but the clock tower blows up at least once a month, and people are always rushing in wanting things, it’s a bad as the shop, at least they think twice before turning up on the doorstep here.”

Rumple chuckled and rose to his feet; Hope settled on his hip and clapped her hands together as she babbled excitedly. Belle smiled, Rumple was going to do some magic and Hope knew it, somehow she always knew. He dipped his head to conspire with their daughter; “What do you think little one, shall we make more space for the books?”

“Magik ooks!”

“Ready?”

Hope raised her little hand to mimic Rumple’s, together they twirled and waved their hands a cloud of red black smoke emerged from Rumple’s fingers and swirled around the room. Hope babbled and gave a twittering giggle that was eerily like the one Rumple used back in the Enchanted Forest, neither he, nor Belle knew how she’d picked up that bit of dramatic flair. The smoke finally cleared and Belle found herself standing in a tower room that was very familiar. She had to laugh at the charming sentiment of it, Rumple had recreated the very first library he had every given her. She crossed the room and planted kisses on his cheek and the top of Hope’s head.

“I love it almost as much as I love you both, thank you,” a sudden thought occurred, “Has this changed the outside of the house? Are the neighbours going to complain?”


	25. Fairytale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairytale  
> Rumbelle

Belle snuck closer to the nursery door, Rumple was reading to Hope a bedtime story. Normally this was father daughter time, but Belle had overheard a familiar premise and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She hid behind the open door and listened as Rumple read.

“‘He would start a rumour that his daughter was able to spin common barnyard straw into pure gold.’ Now that’s totally wrong, it was Cora who made that boastful claim, but I digress…”

Belle frowned as she listened to Rumple read the tale, correcting it as he went. The phrasing the author of this particular version had used was very strange indeed, it didn’t flow quite as easily as most fairytales. Where had Rumple found this book?

“‘The differently statured man laughed and said, ‘Dearie...’ Well Daddy does call people that so I suppose there is something right in this book, but I still get described as short I see…”

Belle wasn’t quite quick enough in smothering her giggle. Rumple must have heard her, because his next words were delivered in his twittering voice of old.

“Still listening at keyholes, little maid? Might as well come in and join us.”

Hope waved sleepily from her crib as Belle slipped into the room and perched herself on the arm of Rumple’s chair. He smiled and carried on with the tale of how the diminutive man showed the Miller’s daughter how to turn straw into gold by helping a farmer’s cooperative. Their daughter smiled and cooed as they both laughed at the idea of the Cora they knew doing anything so nice. Hope fell asleep before Rumple finished the short tale. Belle scanned the last few pages as Rumple straightened Hope’s blanket. Once they’d tip toed out of the room Belle had to ask; “Politically Correct Bedtime Stories? Really?”

Rumple gave her a little shrug; “I like the way the writer manipulates words. And besides this version of Regina’s story oddly accurate in places.”

“So is this another book for the Town Fiction shelf?”

It wasn’t a classification found in any other library, but there were now half a dozen shelves in the Storybrooke library that held this realm’s versions of the stories of the town’s populace.

“I’m afraid so, sweetheart. Shall I call Geppetto and get him to start on another bookcase?”

Belle nodded with a sigh; “Who’d have thought our lives would be so popular?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner - fab little book


	26. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise

Nice surprises didn’t happen that often in Storybrooke. It wasn’t safe to leap out and yell “Surprise!” at people who carried weapons or had magic at their fingertips; Charming had learned that the hard way when they tried to throw a party for Emma’s birthday, at least they had plenty of ice on hand to take the swelling in his jaw down.

The fairies once had tried to surprise everyone with cookies and cupcakes, but this being Storybrooke everyone was deeply suspicious of the gift baskets that appeared on their doorstops that morning. The Sheriff’s Station was inundated with calls about mysterious baked goods, and a few foolhardy townsfolk stomped into the pawnshop and demanded to know what Gold was playing at. Since Rumple hadn’t had a lot of sleep the night before because Hope was teething he didn’t take kindly to the accusations. It took longer to sort out the people who suddenly grew tusks than it did to find out who had baked the cakes.

After that debacle Granny came up with an idea to satisfy the desire for nice surprises. The diner menu now boasted a “Surprise of the Day” option, a special order that was guaranteed to be totally different to your normal order. (Except for Gold who still got a hamburger, his surprise was that the extra pickles were free.) The idea took off and was adapted by other businesses in town. Belle wrapped up books in brown paper with tags attached that only listed their genre; Henry loved this as he discovered books he had never considered reading before. The beauty parlour put up a screen so they could offer surprise nail painting, a service Killian took advantage of when he popped in to pick up his kohl; Captain Hook sporting pirate themed nails certainly surprised a lot of folk. Marco made little wooden toys that were sealed up in colourful boxes and became an instant hit with the kids who wanted to collect the set. Moe French got into the spirit of things by keeping a bowl of names on the counter; customers could draw a name and send a surprise bouquet to someone in town. Rumple would never admit it, but Moe’s flower lottery inspired his own contribution to the nice surprises. One property a month was let off the rent, notification of this arrived in the form of a clearly worded contract that this was a no strings attached deal. Many people ended up framing those, how often was it that the Dark One offered a freebie?


	27. Laugh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laugh  
> RumBelle + Baby  
> Henry/Violet  
> (anti Blue Fairy)

“…when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies…"

It was one of those things that everyone knew, but didn’t really think about; even the fairies didn’t think there was much truth in the tale. The bit of folklore had even made its way into the Land Without Magic, recorded forever in this realm’s misleading version of Peter Pan. The residents of Storybrooke had cause to reconsider the truth of the legend when the baby daughter of Rumplestiltskin and Belle laughed for the first time.

Hope Gold was three months old when it happened. Rumple had just met Belle outside the library and their daughter reached her little chubby hands out to him and laughed. Rumple felt the shimmer of magic as his little girl’s laugh manifested into the air as a shimmering orb of light. Belle wrapped her arms protectively around Hope, her voice quivered as she said: “Rumple?”

“I see it Belle, and I have no idea what is happening.”

Rumple stood with his back to Belle and Hope, putting himself between the strange magic and his family. 

“They are new fairies. Or they will be if we let them break free.”

The voice of the Blue Fairy had Rumple spinning on his heel, his arm thrown behind him to protect Belle and Hope as he spat; “That’s only a legend.”

Blue moved to take a step towards them and then thought better of it. The look on Rumple’s face was enough to stop her in her tracks, but when it was reinforced by Belle’s and little Hope’s scowl she had to consider her safety.

“The legend of the First Laugh has a grain of truth in it. It hasn’t happened in a millennium or more and it this case I suggest it is stopped before it can come to fruition.”

“Why? Do you really think the fairies my aunt brings forth will be evil?”

Rumple shifted on the balls of his feet again, still trying to protect Belle and Hope, this time the new comers were Henry and Violet, they stepped up beside Belle and Hope, and Henry bopped Hope on the nose apparently indifferent to the fact he’d just poured oil on the troubled waters of the standoff that was happening around him. Violet stomped forward and stopped inches away from Blue’s face.

“Do you have a problem with the fact my aunt is the genesis for a new generation of fairies?”

Blue gave a haughty sniff and sneered; “That baby is the spawn of the Dark One, whatever it brings forth will be vile and evil.”

Violet nodded slowly and for an instant both Rumple and Belle thought she was going to agree with Blue, but then Henry grinned at the pair of them and casually tipped his head towards Violet. The Author’s True Love took a deep breath and said loud and clear for the townsfolk on Main Street that were pretending not to listen to hear; “Hope, for that is her name, has more goodness in her little finger than you have in your whole body. I look forward to the fairies that her first laughter has brought forth, because they will undoubtedly be a hell of a lot better than you.”

Blue leaned around Violet and asked Henry; “And what has the Author to say about the evil brewing above our heads?”

Henry slowly twisted on the ball of his foot, a move that made Belle smile because she recognized it as one directly from Rumple’s playbook. Henry’s little strut placed him directly under the shimmering ball of magic, he made a show of bending backwards to look at it and then let his eyes drift to Hope before coming to rest on Blue. The moment of silence he had created spun out to the point of painfulness, then and only then did Henry speak.

“I am Henry Mills of Storybrooke, I carry the heart of the Truest Believer and am the current guardian of the Quill of the Author, and I declare that the next generation of Fairies are to be born from the First Laugh of Hope, daughter of Belle of Avonlea and Rumplestiltskin, and they will be terrific.”

The ball of magic above him shattered, the shards skipped away leaving the echo of a child’s laughter in their wake. Hope smiled and waved her chubby hands at the disappearing glimmers. The Blue Fairy frowned and vanished in a puff of smoke. Rumple finally let out the breath he’d been holding and after checking his wife and daughter were okay, crossed to Henry. For a while the two men stood shoulder to shoulder in silence, and then Rumple cleared his throat and said; “Terrific. That’s the word you chose.”

Henry gave his grandfather a small shrug; “Yeah, best not to limit their options don’t you think?”

Rumple rocked on his heels for a moment, before he cast a pointed glance over his shoulder to where Violet was making a fuss of Belle and Hope.

“I didn’t miss that by the way, Violet calling Hope her aunt, she’s no relation until…”

Rumple let his words trail off as he watched Henry’s blush grow, he relented and slung his arm around his grandson’s shoulders.

“Violet has just stood up for Hope, she is family Henry.”


	28. Happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happiness  
> Town of Storybrooke

People noticed and began to make little comments after six months. These brave fools were hushed into silence by others less willing to tempt Fate. By nine months even the brave fools didn’t dare to say anything, it was all too good to be true. There was a nervous tension in the town, low key and always present, as people waited for the inevitable.

It was Granny who cracked at the eleven and a half months mark; she began to plan a party, it was all done very quietly, but it those involved knew that Granny was pulling out all the stops.

The day before it appeared that the party planning had been in vain, when a portal opening in the middle of Main Street, but it turned out that was just Jefferson returning from Arendelle with Elsa and Anna. Word spread around town that the party was on.

Charming climbed onto the bed of his jeep and cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Ladies and gentleman!”

When nobody paid him any heed, he nodded at Ruby, who quickly got everyone’s attention with an ear splitting whistle.

“Thanks. Okay we all know why were are celebrating, but I think it’s about time we made it official,” Charming took a deep breath, a pin dropping would have sounded like thunder in this moment, “Storybrooke has been emergency free for a whole year!”

The was a short pause as people glanced anxiously around them, just in case Fate decided now was the perfect moment for a catastrophe. Leroy broke the tension by hollering;

“Wonderful news!”

The cheers and whoops of joy finally gave way to music and laughter as Storybrooke celebrated a whole year of happiness.


End file.
